@Jesica. And some people believe astronauts experience weightlessness in outer …

@Jesica. And some people believe astronauts experience weightlessness in outer space because there is no gravity there, even though such belief is clearly disproved by the existence of the moon in orbit and the existence of the tides. Evidence and reasoning mean nothing to some people. I think the Chamberlains are by now sadly quite resigned to the fact they will always be guilty in the eyes of some people. Like you it seems, Jesica?

Recent Comments by ian sharp

Aboriginal flag on Anzac Hill: the nays have it The hill has been Untyeyetwelye to the Arrernte people for thousands of years. According to Peter Donovan (who wrote ‘Alice Springs, its history and the people who made it’ for the Town Council, published 1988) in the early days of European settlement the townspeople called it ‘View Hill’, and later ‘Stott Hill’. The RSL was granted ‘rights’ to the hill in 1934 by government, not by the Traditional Owners. The RSL then named it ‘Anzac Hill’.

Of course this was done at a time when Aboriginal people were unwelcome in the town, they were shunted down to ‘The Gap’, or confined to missions. Surely we have moved on since then? Is it so hard to envisage that the hill could serve both as war memorial and a symbol of the changed relations between our Indigenous people and our European settlers? It is more than strange that the capital city of The Centre, the heartland of the desert peoples, does not fly the Aboriginal Flag from the hill the overlooks our town.

Aboriginal flag on Anzac Hill: the nays have it Crikey, what a whacky decision. Makes Alice look just like how many people in our country perceive it. And makes the Council look like drongoes. But I live in hope, been re-watching ‘Grassroots’ lately, the Mayor always meant well, but became known as Col ‘U-turn’ Dunkley as ‘circumstances changed’ Let’s hope circumstances change here too. Hopefully not everyone positioning for preselection for higher office.

What will our cultural celebrations look like in a generation?John, I think you are seeing the issue in black and white, two extremes.
There is a lot in between. We have not always seen ourselves as an independent nation, we used to see ourselves as citizens of The Empire, many people called Britain “home”. Things change.
We are no longer the country we once were. We don’t turn a blind eye to domestic violence anymore, cops do not go ‘poofta bashing’, pedophile priests are no longer just moved to another parish, Carlton can no longer buy premierships.
And change continues with each generation. We will in fact have a stronger national identity when we get rid of the colonial flag, when we have an Australian Head of State (not just an Australian representative for the British monarch), and a day that ALL Australians can celebrate as their national day.
Of course we won’t get there through reasoned argument, we will get there the same way we got rid of the White Australia Policy, the older generation of believers will pass away and a new national identity will be forged.
So we can say weare no longer the country we once were, and our great grand kids will say this too in their turn, about “our” Australia. That tide of history just keeps on.